(Luxerk POV)
Sound asleep; I heard voices echoing in my head.
“What do you suppose he is?” A weak voice guessed.
“He looks familiar, that’s for sure,” A tomboyish voice roughly mentioned.
“Whatever it means, HE is returning,” A feminine voice cooed.
“No!”
“Impossible!”
“Let’s watch him for a while. Number V, you know what to do.”
My slumber was cut off by heavy wrapping on my bedroom door.
“Lux, are you up, yet?” Sunset called through the door.
“Yeah; I am.”
“Don’t be snoozing off, now; it’s the first day of ‘school’ for you.”
“Yeah; ‘school.'”
I got out of bed, stuffed my diary into my coat pocket and zipping up. I groggily sauntered into the living room, cracking the kinks out of my neck. Sunset cringed at the sound and the fact that my coat is the only thing I have for clothes.
“We should get you some clothes after school,” she suggested.
“Agreed. Where’s Tavi and Vinyl?”
“They already left, we need to hurry to the school if we don’t want to be late.”
I nodded in agreement. We immediately left the apartment and saw a bus drive away.
“Dammit!” Sunset smacked a road sign in anger. An idea popped into my head, but I have a sinking feeling that it will backfire on her. Knowing that this moment may call for it, I proposed the idea to her anyways.
“Climb onto my back; I can run fast enough to get us to school on time.”
“Really?”
“I can summon the Keyblade, anything is possible.”
"Good point; let's go."
She wrapped her legs around my back and held onto my shoulders like the saddle of a horse.
Ability Obtained
Haste
This ability will allow you to run at twice your normal speed. However, this effect will dwindle with less HP you currently have.
I kicked off the sidewalk onto the street, closely tailing the distant bus.
“What time is it?” I asked, curious of how much time we have left.
“We got about 5 minutes! I completely lost track of time!”
“Alright; I know a shortcut. Hold on.”
I continued down the street, following the same path I took when I was chased by Dusks last week. I still kept my distance from the bus, for fear of attracting attention. Something I think Sunset doesn’t want to have. Coming from the same opening to the same alleyway, I held onto her with one hand and grabbed the pole with the other. I kept my momentum and half-spun into the alleyway.
“Uh, Lux; it’s a dead end. We got to turn back.”
Ignoring her, I jumped up and kicked off the wall, bounding from side to side until I was high enough to clear the wall. I landed onto the ground, crouching and sliding from the impact. I immediately recovered and continued on my familiar route. I sensed the stunned look on her face as I felt her grip tighter than ever.
A couple of minutes went by, and we eventually made it to the entrance of the school where a line of busses already stopped to let the other people off. At the statue was the gang hanging out, possibly waiting for us. Sunset climbed off my back and ran towards the group.
“Hey, slow-pokies!” Pinkie greeted us in her usual happy-go-lucky tone, “What happened? Slept late?”
Sunset embarrassedly nodded.
“Lux is surprisingly robust and quick on his feet,” Sunset complimented my acrobatic movements, “He jumped from wall to wall over in an alleyway; it was soo cool!”
Overhearing the conversation, Rainbow grew curious about my potential.
“So, you’re into Parkour?” she asked me.
“Bless you,” I joked, “But in all seriousness, what’s Parkour?”
“It’s also called free running and-”
“Ohhhh! I get you now; I just never heard someone call it that before.”
“Where did you learn it?”
Since they vaguely know about my past, I should as well tell them about the world I once lived in.
“I learned it back on my homeworld. On my off time, I ran around town, thinking of ways to maneuver around anything and everything that was nailed to the ground.”
“How good would you say you would be at it?”
“Pretty adept, but not a master of it. I met a guy in Traverse Town that was way better at it than I was. What was his name again? I think it was Neku if I’m not mistaken.”
The sound of a bell rang throughout the school, catching the attention to every student that was socializing.
“Well Y'all, as much as I Love to know more about the places, Lux been to, but we gotta get to First Period,” Applejack reminded us.
“Good idea,” Sunset complemented, “Lux, follow me.”
I nodded and followed the rest of the group into the school. So begins my first day here at Canterlot High.
The hallways were packed with many teens moving in all directions to get to their classes on time. Sunset grabbed onto my arm and pulled me into Celestia’s office. There, she was doing something I would expect from an official running an institution. She took notice and greeted both me and Sunset.
“Oh, Luxerk! Good morning,” she beamed, “Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah…” I hesitantly said, “...strange though; I didn’t have a dream this time.”
“We can’t remember most of our dreams, sadly.”
“Anyways, what was the reason for my summoning here?”
“Well, we wanted you here to pick up your schedule for your time here. Do your best at both your mission and keeping up your facade.”
Obtained Class Schedule
A helpful list on where you will go next on certain times.
Note: Only is used during school days.
“As I’ve said before, I can’t guarantee keeping my true intentions under wraps if Heartless invade the school and the students come to me asking questions.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
The school bell rang once more, breaking our conversation.
“That was the second bell,” Celestia explained, “You two better get to class.”
“Come on,” Sunset tugged at my shoulder, “I’ll escort you to class.”
“Here we are,” Sunset exclaimed, “First Period; Chemistry with Mr. Magnet.”
I took a look at the room number: 135. The door had a long metal handle with a small rectangular window. I quickly peeked through to see that the teacher noticed us and only gave us a quick glance of acknowledgment before looking back to the class.
It didn’t matter how quietly we entered the classroom; everyone stopped talking and stared at me. It felt a bit off-putting, but I think that all stems from their paranoia of past events.
“Okay, quiet down class,” the teacher spoke up, “Before we begin, I’d like to announce a new student with us today!”
Dammit! I was hoping he wasn’t going to say that. Oh well, might as well get it over with. I stood up from the desk and raised my head up high for all to see.
“Hello everyone, my name is Luxerk; I’m a transfer student from Mareway. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”
“Ah, how is your home country?”
“It’s okay, I guess. Plenty of places to ski, though.”
“Oh, so you enjoy skiing? That explains the heavy jacket?”
“Definitely.”
“Okay, it’s a pleasure to have you with us today, and with that out of the way, it’s time to go over the Cage effect. So all would take their seats, and we will turn to page 294 of our textbooks.”
I sat back down and sank into it when I found no such book. That was when Sunset quietly moved her desk right next to mine and opened it up in the middle of the two.
“Here,” she whispered, “We can share mine until you get your own.”
It was then out of the corners of my eyes; I noticed other students whispering to one another.
“I never heard of Mareway selling coats like that.”
“Didn't he appear during that explosion?”
“Those strange guys with the white coats were also roaming the streets that very night.”
“He must be plotting something.”
“He’s another demon.”
“Hey,” Sunset said, breaking my concentration on the others, “Don’t let those people bother you; they don’t know.”
“Yeah, but it’s the more radical ones I need to look out for.”
The first period flew by; my focus was more on keeping my guard up from any heartless that might invade the school, but so far nothing. The second period was Agriculture with Applejack. She taught me the basics of apple farming from tilling to planting and harvesting. Surprisingly, it was easy; all I needed to do was kick the trunk of the tree, and the apples will fall right into the buckets. She even gave me a couple as a gift. One of which I ate and tossed the core into a trash can from across the room.
The Third Period was with Fluttershy in Ecology. She has an adamant interest in animals. A foreign concept to me since I had no interest in living things that couldn’t defend themselves. I also learned that she frequently volunteers at the animal shelter and scarcely smuggles one into school in her backpack. The one she had with her was a rabbit named Angel. I felt...relaxed being around both Sunset and Fluttershy for some reason; I just can’t put my finger on it.
I skipped going to the cafeteria and wanted to explore the school a bit more. To which I found some students’ eyes glued to me. It’s like I was in a bizarro version of Twilight Town. That made me curious, though. What kind of magic dwelled here? I heard of the stories the girls told me, but I feel like that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What is this town hiding? I should ask Celestia and Luna about this, but they might think I’m nutty cuckoo.
The Fourth Period was with Rarity in Home Ec; I discovered it’s just to know how to at the core of it, eating the right foods, maintain your spending habits and fixing clothing, which I found to be the most helpful detail of all. Rarity ran a business in the shopping district of Canterlot called Carousel Boutique. She’s a seamstress that can make and fix various outfits. I should make a mental note to visit her shop after school.
The fifth Period was Strength Training with Rainbow Dash. As I was heading over to the Gymnasium was when something flew around the corner of my eye spotting a black splotch zipping across the open hallway. I dashed toward the source to look where it went, only to see nothing. I scratched my head in confusion. Was it that they were waiting to catch me off guard or am I just paranoid? Either way, I need to hurry to class.
I arrived at the gym’s weight room with the class and its teacher, Spitfire. The other students already occupy most of the machines, so I’ll have to try my luck at the weights. I noticed Rainbow Dash at the treadmill, and she waved at me. She got off and jogged over to me.
“Yo, Lux. You got class with me?”
“Yeah, but what to use?”
“Try the bench.”
“The what?”
“You see that bench over there? The bar suspended above it with two heavy as hell weights on each side?”
“Oh, so that’s what it’s called.”
“Try it.”
I nodded and walked over to the bench. I took off my jacket, exposing my upper half. I sensed a few people staring at me, making me slightly blush. I have no clue why I feel embarrassed as I seen a few female students blush as well.
“Wow,” Rainbow commented, “You kept yourself in shape. Now, I wonder if you can lift it.”
“Well, here goes nothing.”
I cracked my knuckles before grabbing onto the bar and sliding off its lock. It slammed down hard onto my chest, knocking the wind out of me. I took a few deep breaths to get my bearings and slowly pushed it upward. Up and down and so forth.
“Uh, Lux?”
“What?”
“That’s 200 pounds! How are you moving that effortlessly!?”
I moved my eyes at Rainbow, referencing being a Nobody. She nodded, remembering my secret.
“You need to be fit if you want to live where I lived; hostile wildlife and extreme sports are the norms up there.”
“Yeah; that must’ve been awesome times for you!”
“Yep,” I agreed, hesitantly, “Awesome.”
The rest of the period went along smoothly, but with a lack of communication with me and Rainbow Dash. I used other machines due to rotation periods where I tested my leg muscles, cardio, and my stamina on the bike, all with exceptional and predictable results. I thought to myself on the matter: maybe being my usual non-Human self could raise some unwanted praise and attention by the other students. The last thing I need is to be praised like a muscular Gary-Stu-Pretty-Boy like Hercules or every male main character of every Anime.
I started to emulate the few signs of fatigue I noticed from watching the other students work out. I tiredly plopped down onto the yoga mat, panting like a dog.
“Wow,” Rainbow commented, “Even the extreme ski dude has his limits.”
“Well, if I got any bigger, my muscles would look like balloons about to pop.”
She laughed at my failed attempt at a joke. She knows my lack of human humor but supports me anyway. The bell rang once more, and we were off to our next class. My next class was known as “Culinary Arts.” The name mystified me as I didn’t know what that stood for, I guess I’ll just have to figure that out when I get there.
As I arrived at the door of the class, the door slammed open, the students running out of the room with a cloud of smoke following suit. Curious, I ran into the room to find the source of the fire, only to see Pinkie Pie in an apron, wearing great goggles, dousing the flames with a large red container spitting out the powder. When the dust settled, she took off the goggles looking around the room.
“What!? Is it because I used too much flambé?” she rhetorically asked the empty room. The teacher walked in and looked around the room, scratching her head.
“Pinkie?” she asked, “Where’s the rest of the class?”
“Sorry, Mrs. Cake; I maybe went overboard on the Flambé part of my cake.”
“I know this might not be my place in the conversation,” I brought up, “But Pinkie, when you make this ‘Flambé,’ make sure to NOT freak out everybody by adding a whole bottle of flame stuff; I think that’s the only extra mile you can’t go.”
“Really? I thought that was with only doing stunts from Jackass.”
What? What the hell did she just say? I can’t...I can’t even...what...screw it; Pinkie Pie is Pinkie Pie, regardless if she makes sense or not.
“Well, I will have to report this little incident and cancel class for today,” Mrs. Cake deadpanned, “Sorry for your first impressions of this class, Luxerk.”
“It’s okay; I don’t think I was ready to cook today, anyways.”
She had a quick laugh before leaving the room for the office, having Pinkie and me the only two in the room.
“So, is Culinary Arts just a fancy word for cooking class?”
“Correct! I work in a bakery for Mrs. Cake and her husband, but I may have just got into more trouble than I bargained for.”
“Well, you can tell Celestia that it was a simple mistake and you now know not to cook a Flambé that way again.”
“Okay, thanks for the help, Luxy.”
“Heh, it’s nothing.”
“You know I saw a splotch of black out of the corner of my eye; I'm not sure if it’s one of those heartless thingies or a dazzling looking for revenge.”
“You know where it went?”
“It was before I got to class was when it looked like it was watching me, then it bolted off like me on a bunch of tasty treats.”
I scratched my chin, thinking about my next move. It was when the idea occurred to me.
“Pinkie, since we have a half hour of free time, why don’t we go looking for that figure?”
“Yeah! But I need to talk to Principal Celestia first.”
“It’s alright; you talk to her first, and when we meet up in the lobby, I can update you on it.”
“Okie Dokie Loki!”
She dashed out of a room like a lit Heartless. I walked out of the room, cracking my knuckles. I knew someone’s here, but it isn’t a frequent presence a heartless gives off. It’s a life force that is much stronger than any I have sensed so far. I sense of dread made my skin crawl; strange because for once in my existence I felt sick. Maybe I am becoming more Human like the ones I’ve been around for the past week. I need to curb that warm thought for now; this school, hell, this world is potentially in danger of being consumed by Xemnas’s legacy.
I wandered throughout the school, looking for the entity. I sensed its strong presence, but it seems that it managed to hide from me. I occasionally caught glimpses of it, so I had no need to worry about losing my trail on it. In spots of afternoon light shining through the window, parts of the figure lit up, revealing a black cloak. I didn’t spot any silver on the cloak, so the possibility of it being a surviving member of the Organization is thrown out of the window, so to speak.
I managed to corner it to an unmarked door. I followed inside to an old closet, about the size of a classroom. The force of the figure was gone. How did it just vanish when I just cornered it? There must be a portal somewhere; it just can’t pull a portal out of its ass. Only the organization can conjure paths of darkness in between worlds. Could it be…?
“Roxas?” I quivered out loud. Is he still alive? He was the only one out of the organization that I felt a life force from. Ironically, he was the most human out of the group. The void where my heart should be, ached a bit. If it is him, then after all this time and he doesn’t have the courage to face me again? He might have a reason to his absence. He better stay away from the key bearers of light, then. They may be hunting for the last of us. Good thing I chose a mostly secluded world, but they might come for me as well.
“Roxas…” I said out loud, “Wherever you are, I hope you’re in a safe place.”
(Stop Music)
My body tensed up, and I spun around, slicing a Heartless Soldier in half with the claymore. I playfully scoffed.
“Close, but no sucker punch.”
More Heartless appeared in the room. Mostly Red Nocturnes and Large Bodies on each corner of the room. One large body tried to charge towards me. I leaped to the side, and it slammed into one of its buddies. I jumped up and kicked off the wall to a red nocturne, catching two in a combo and quickly dispatching them with a finishing horizontal slash. I fell onto another red nocturne and hold onto it. It bounced off the walls, shaking me around.
“Whoo, ya! I got 7 seconds! 7 Seconds!”
I pulled onto its head as hard as I could, causing it to shoot fire at the large bodies, destroying one of them. I cast Bind, and the surviving Heartless were bound in a pinch. All except for one large body which missed me by inches and killing the last two in a single swipe. As it charged toward me again, I put away my weapon and focused on its arm. I sidestepped and put all my strength into its arm, throwing it over my shoulder next to the door where it slammed open and vanquished it. Through the opening, a barrel of a cannon pointed into the room and...wait, WHAT!?
I dove to the side of the room as it's loud boom deafened the room and vanquishing the rest of the Heartless with, confetti? I looked at the top of the cannon to see Pinkie’s head pop up over the top.
“Hey, Luxy! The Heartless are here!”
“Yeah; I took notice.”
(Fight Over)
!!!
LEVEL UP
Lv. 4 < 5
HP: 40 < 50
MP: 23 < 30
STR: 13 < 15
MAG: 12 < 15
DEF: 13 < 15
Crit. %: 7 < 8
Crit. Bonus: 9 < 10
“Hey Luxy, did you hear that catchy little tune?”
I gave her a confused look.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“Oh, well; you’ll find out anyways.”
“ALRIGHTY THEN...you said there’s another Heartless in the school?”
“Yeah, but all of the doors in the school are locked!”
“Okay, let’s go and find the others; stay behind me, got it?”
“Okie dokie loki.”
We left the room, sprinting down the hall back into the fray.
Luxerk's Current Stats
Lv. 5
HP: 50
MP: 30
STR: 15
MAG: 15
DEF: 15
Crit. %: 8
Crit. Bonus: 10